Sir Cedric Morris, BtBelle of Bloomsbury 1948

The subject of Belle of Bloomsbury is a bull terrier bitch called Swirl. She was owned by the artist's sister, Nancy, who lived in Bloomsbury, London during the late 1920s and early 1930s. As Swirl was kept in this part of London for much of her life, the painting is titled Belle of Bloomsbury. Morris painted the picture especially for his sister while staying with her at Henley shortly after their mother's death. Swirl herself had died some fourteen years earlier.

The painting is based on an undated black and white photograph (Tate Archive) taken by Angus Wilson, a friend of the American collector and painter Paul Odo Cross. It shows Swirl sitting on a blanket in the garden of Cross's house near Fordingbridge… (read more)